Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

DLUHC update

Lord Greenhalgh: My Hon. Friend, the Minister for Levelling Up - Local Government, Constitution and the Union (Neil O’Brien) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:I will shortly announce 477 projects supporting people and communities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which are set to receive a share of over £200 million, helping support local areas to pilot imaginative new approaches and programmes that unleash their potential, instil pride, and prepare them to take full advantage of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund when it launches in 2022. The UK Community Renewal Fund is part of the Government’s plan to level up our regions and create a more united country.This is levelling up in action – investing in projects across the whole of the UK that will make a real difference to people’s lives. Supporting those on low incomes to become budding entrepreneurs, investing in local businesses and councils at the forefront of our decarbonisation drive, and funding new education and training facilities that will help people go far but stay local. Through this fund we are also empowering local leaders to shape the places they live, guaranteeing that these investments have a lasting impact.Selection of UK Community Renewal Fund projects that will be funded include:Over £1 million to upskill people in retrofit and modern construction skills in Devon to support the decarbonisation drive in the property sector, helping people get construction jobs and ensuring businesses have the skills they need.£201,064 to support unemployed and disadvantaged residents in Carmarthenshire into self-employment or to start their own business, by investing in digital, employability and entrepreneurial skills. The programme will also fund a bootcamp for female entrepreneurs, developing a networking group for women in business.£67,626 to deliver deaf awareness training and basic British Sign Language to customer facing staff at a range of organisations throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf. The money will also be used to set up local community groups for the elderly who are hard of hearing, tackling loneliness and isolation.£72,501 to support neurodiverse people with conditions such as Tourette's, OCD, ADHD/ADD and Dyslexia in Antrim and Newtownabbey to secure employment and prepare for the world of work.£612,000 shared between Inverclyde and Aberdeen City for a pilot to support 16–24-year-olds from deprived areas to upskill and secure jobs. Delivering on the commitment to level up all of the UK underpins the choices made in the Budget and Spending Review. The historic levels of investment confirmed through SR21 will improve living standards for people and places across the UK, helping ensure that people’s opportunities in life are not determined by where they live. Investing in people will boost employment, wages and prospects. The Budget and Spending Review launches the UK Shared Prosperity Fund worth over £2.6 billion, to help people access new opportunities in places of need. Funding will rise to £1.5 billion a year by 2024-25.

Treasury

Launch of the London Capital & Finance Compensation Scheme - Contingencies Fund Advance

Lord Agnew of Oulton: My honourable friend the the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.On 19 April 2021 the government announced the detail of a compensation scheme for London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) bondholders (HCWS922). The scheme provides 80% of LCF bondholders’ principal investment up to a maximum of £68,000 and will be open to all bondholders who hold bonds that have not already been compensated by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Now that the necessary legislation has passed through Parliament, final preparations are being made so that the scheme can begin making payments in November. The government has appointed FSCS to run the scheme on its behalf using Part 15A of the Financial Services and Markets Act. The government and FSCS are committed to providing all eligible bondholders with their compensation within six months. I would like to emphasise that bondholders do not need to do anything at this stage and should wait for FSCS to contact them about their compensation payment. Further detail on exactly how the scheme will operate, including the scheme rules and frequently asked questions, are available online at www.gov.uk/LCF-compensation-scheme The Compensation (London Capital & Finance plc and Fraud Compensation Fund) Act received Royal Assent on 20 October 2021 but provision for this was not included in the Main Estimate for HM Treasury at the start of the financial year. In accordance with normal procedures, HM Treasury will therefore be using a Contingencies Fund advance to enable bondholders’ access to their compensation payments, ahead of the provision being provided in the Treasury’s Supplementary Estimate. Parliamentary approval for additional resources of £120,000,000 for this new expenditure will be sought in a Supplementary Estimate for HM Treasury. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £120,000,000 will be met by repayable cash advances from the Contingencies Fund.

Department of Health and Social Care

Adult Social Care Winter Plan

Lord Kamall: My Hon Friend the Minister of State (Minister of State for Care and Mental Health) (Gillian Keegan) has today made the following written statement:On 3 November 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care will be publishing the Adult Social Care: Winter plan 2021 to 2022. This plan has been developed in conjunction with the NHS and social care sector stakeholders, drawing on the recommendations of Sir David Pearson’s review of last year’s Adult Social Care Winter Plan; advice from SAGE and UKHSA; and extensively on lessons learned so far in the pandemic.The Adult Social Care Winter Plan 2021 to 2022 will set out the actions National Government will be taking to support the sector, along with the steps local authorities, the NHS, and care providers should take to prevent and control COVID-19 outbreaks. The plan focuses not just on COVID-19, but also other viruses such as flu and norovirus, to ensure that those who receive social care are protected this winter.Thanks to the huge success of the UK’s vaccine rollout, we are in a favourable position as we approach this winter, and I am determined to ensure that those in all social care settings remain protected whilst maintaining their quality of life. The UK Government has already set out a comprehensive package of measures to support the adult social care sector throughout the winter. These are:£388 million in further funding to support infection prevention control, testing and vaccination uptake in adult social care settings. This is in addition to a further £478 million to continue enhanced hospital discharge support until March 2022.A new £162.5 million Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund to bolster the dedicated care workforce. This funding will support local authorities, working with providers, to recruit staff and retain the existing workforce - through a range of measures which could include local recruitment activity, the creation of staff banks, additional overtime hours and payments to incentivise joiners and recognise loyalty – to ensure the right number of staff with the skills to deliver high quality care to meet increasing demands.Free flu vaccination for eligible frontline social care workers and carers and ensuring pharmacists can vaccinate staff and recipients of care in care homes.COVID-19 booster vaccinations to those in JCVI cohorts 1-9 that received their second dose more than six months ago. Older Adult Care Home residents and staff will receive COVID-19 boosters within their home.Continuing the designated settings scheme, in order to provide appropriate care for in a COVID-secure environment for those likely to be infectious with COVID-19 who are discharged from hospital. The Designated Settings Indemnity Support has also been extended to cover the winter period until 31 March 2022, in order to maintain the current level of support for these vital settings.Continuing to provide free PPE for COVID-19 needs to the Adult Social Care sector until the end of March 2022, with sufficient stock to cope throughout winter. Regular asymptomatic COVID-19 testing will be maintained, with the availability of more intense testing regimes for higher risk settings.We are also publishing the evaluation from the Workforce Capacity Fund. The fund which saw £120m support provided to the sector in Jan 2021, helped the sector to deal with challenges of COVID-19 last winter, delivered 7.3 million additional hours with over 39k new recruits. It was deemed, by overwhelming majority of LAs, as either ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ effective in supporting them to strengthen workforce capacity last winter. The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the NHS to ensure the Adult Social Care Winter Plan is co-ordinated and integrated with their planning. NHS England and Improvement’s winter planning guidance is already available [NHS England » 2021/22 priorities and operational planning guidance: October 2021 – March 2022]. The Adult Social Care Plan and NHSEI’s planning guidance enable the providers of care across both sectors to prepare for winter.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Confirmation of fishing licence numbers issued by the UK and the Crown Dependencies

Lord Benyon: My Hon Friend the Minister of State (Victoria Prentis) has today made the following statement.This statement sets out, for clarity, the numbers of fishing licences issued by the UK and the Crown Dependencies since the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was signed. The information is correct as of 9am on 3 November 2021.The position does change as applications can be made or withdrawn at any time. Requests to withdraw licences by the European Commission can also be made at any time and therefore the number of active licences will be slightly different. UK watersUnder the Fisheries Act 2020, all foreign vessels fishing in UK waters are required to have a licence. Article 2(1) of Annex 38 to the TCA sets out the level of access which applies during the adjustment period (until 30 June 2026). This includes both the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and also particular zones in the territorial sea (6 to 12 nautical miles from the shore in ICES divisions 4c and 7d-g). Access to the territorial sea is limited to “qualifying” vessels, i.e. those that fished in those zones in at least four of the years between 2012 and 2016, or their direct replacements. The TCA also places some limitations on access in terms of which stocks can be targeted, where and by which Member States.In the UK 6 to 12 nautical mile zone, our approach has been to license vessels once sufficient evidence has been provided that they have fished in UK waters on at least one day in four of the years between 2012 and 2016.The number of licences that have been issued to EU vessels to fish in UK waters are as follows.Overall total:UKApplications receivedLicences issuedLicences pending further information from the Commission/Member State 1831[i]179338 In short, almost 98% of all licences received by the UK have been granted.UK 12-200nm zoneThe majority of these licenses were granted on 31 December 2020 with 1,285 EU vessels licensed.Applications received: 1,673Vessels licensed: 1,673By member State:Member StateApplications receivedLicences issuedApplications pendingBelgium65650Demark1211210France7367360Germany49490Republic of Ireland3583580Lithuania220Netherlands1921920Poland220Portugal49490Spain90900Sweden990 UK 6-12nm zoneVessels over 12m Applications received: 109Vessels licensed: 102By member State:Member StateApplications receivedLicences issuedApplications pendingBelgium21174France88853 Vessels under 12mApplications received: 50Vessels licensed: 19By member State:Member StateApplications receivedLicences issuedApplications pendingFrance501931 1 licensed vessel was withdrawn at the EU’s request.Crown Dependency watersThe TCA provides for different arrangements for the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, all of which are responsible for issuing their own licences. Article 502(1) of the TCA provides that:“Each Party shall grant vessels of the other Party access to fish in its waters reflecting the actual extent and nature of fishing activity that it can be demonstrated was carried out during the period beginning on 1 February 2017 and ending on 31 January 2020 by qualifying vessels of the other Party in the waters and under any treaty arrangements that existed on 31 January 2020.” A “qualifying vessel” is one which fished in the relevant CD waters on more than 10 days in one of the periods defined by the TCA.Both Jersey and Guernsey have extended transitional arrangements to enable EU vessels to continue to fish in their waters, while evidence of relevant fishing activity during the reference period is collected and they move to a full licensing regime.Licensing figures for the Crown Dependencies are as follows:JerseyTotal live applicationsPermanent licences issuedTemporary licences granted. Valid until 31/1/22. Further information from the Commission/Member State required for them to be made permanent Lapsed on 30/10 due to lack of evidence2171134955 Jersey have also received 11 applications for replacement vessels, which are pending the finalisation of a methodology for such vessels. GuernseyGuernsey’s transitional arrangement which allows access for 167 French vessels will continue until 31 January 2022.Full licences will be issued to eligible vessels on 1 December 2021. 58 applications have been received. Isle of Man: no applications received.  [i] Additionally, a further 37 applications for direct replacement vessels have been received from France. Processing of these will be carried out once a methodology has been finalised for such vessels